I am working on a paper titled "Technical Overview of Concrete Structures for Blast Resistant Design".  It addresses many aspects of blast resistant design for new construction and retrofitting existing structures, as well as some of the products available.  I am also assisting John Hoemann in testing some of these products.

Jake currently works for Butler Manufacturing in Kansas City, Missouri.

I am studying how specific concrete properties affect the behavior of walls cast with stay-in-place formwork.  I will be exploring the correlation between the behaviors of traditionally formed concrete sections and similar sections cast with stay-in-place formwork.

I am working to develop a blast mitigating wall retrofit from sheet steel. The purpose is to reduce the likelihood of injury to persons or damage to interiors of buildings when brick walls are subjected to a blast and reduced to lethal projectiles. The main focus of my work is to fabricate connections that are strong enough to hold the sheet steel in place yet allow it to deform in order that it may absorb the energy from the blast.

I am involved with all levels of our groups research. My thesis will focus on the experimental evaluation of composites in diverse applications for blast and fragmentation mitigation.

The focus of my research is to look at the overall characteristics of a processed composite polymer as an optional material for retrofitting in blast resistant design. The testing will include devising a way to attach the polymer to the structure, either mechanically or by chemical bonds. Quasi-Static resistance functions will be developed for use in predicting the blast behavior of the material. Summaries and final comparisons will be drawn between this polymer and other similarly tested materials used in this application.

John Kennedy graduated from MU with a Masters Degree in Civil Engineering in December 2005.  While at MU, he studied the effects of thin steel sheets as a blast-resistant retrofit of masonry walls under the direction of Dr. Hani Salim.  After graduating, he moved to Nashville, TN to begin his career at Structural Affiliates International, Inc. as a structural design engineer.  He is now responsible for the design of low to mid-rise buildings constructed of various materials all across the country.

Jordan is currently employed by Cromwell Architects Engineers in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The focus of my research is the blast resistance design of roof structures with Open Web Steel Joists (OWSJ). The behavior of I-Beams subjected to blasts is widely known and researched, but the blast behavior OWSJ is a relatively new subject. My research will be conducted with roof blast data obtained by the actual testing of OWSJ and applied to computational and finite element design methods. Also, the pre-established design method for the blast loading on roofs will be tested and analyzed.

The goal of my research is to challenge the current ACI code parameters in regard to the structural qualities of stay-in-place formwork. Under current ACI designations the presence of stay-in-place formwork is to be completely neglected with regards to the flexural strength of reinforced concrete walls. This section of code, however, does not take into account stay-in-place forms made of materials with substantial tensile strengths, such as PVC. Through research focusing on the use of this type of formwork it will be concluded whether or not this extra reinforcement can practically be considered as negligible.

My research is to experimentally evaluate the blast resistance capabilities of stay-in-place PVC forms. These concrete filled walls have been known to improve duality and energy absorption. I will be focusing on developing the static resistance function of concrete walls for use in the Single Degree of Freedom Model. The end goal is to acquire the data needed to reasonably design structures for blast with this style of construction.